A Walk in the Park
by dear-lovely
Summary: Severus Snape was an odd boy, to say the least. No one would have guessed that this same boy would ever prove to be as brilliant as he was, including seventh-year Lucius Malfoy.


**This story was written for the Third Round of the Seventh Season of the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition. I'm writing as Beater 1 for the Tutshill Tornados.**

**This is the name of the round**: Dances From Around the World

**This is the prompt for Beater 1**: _The Raqs Sharki of Egypt_; write about a character who comes to respect someone they didn't previously.

**These are the optional prompts I'm using as a beater:**

10\. Top Gun (movie)

12\. Journal (object)

**Disclaimer: I don't own any part of the world J.K. Rowling has created.**

**Thanks to my team for betaing!**

* * *

**A Walk in the Park**

Words: 1814

_1978_

Lord Voldemort was, at the moment, _on top of the world_. All of his plans leading to the ultimate demise of the Muggle race were in fruition and nothing could stop him now. Although he acknowledged the success of the movement so far, he was still troubled by something of great significance. Truth be told, he was unsure about the longevity of the movement and wanted to ensure that change would be permanent and not just some fad washed throughout time. Sure, his current supporters would always be there by his side, but he needed to recruit some more worthy wizards from outside of his current circle. He knew that in order to ensure longevity, he needed to recruit supporters right under Dumbledore's nose—he needed to expand into Hogwarts.

He suddenly sat up straight. "Dobby!" Voldemort barked out.

A three-foot tall house elf dressed in a body-covering pillowcase appeared before him and, with trembling lips, asked, "Y-y-es, m-my Lord?"

"Summon your Master at once," he commanded.

"A-at once, m-my Lord," the elf responded and then quickly exited as he came. A minute later, the elf reappeared alongside a tall man with luscious platinum-blonde hair.

"You summoned me, my Lord?" Lucius Malfoy said.

Voldemort looked up into his eyes. "Ah, yes I did. I was just curious about the students currently attending Hogwarts. Do you happen to know any of them?"

Lucius blanched for a moment as a deeply hidden memory arose into his mind.

* * *

_1971_

Severus Snape was an odd boy, to say the least. His clothes hung loose on his tiny frame, his hair never managed to stop looking oily, and he had the demeanor of a grumpy fifty-year-old man trapped inside the body of a miserable eleven-year-old boy. No one would have guessed that this same boy would ever prove to be as brilliant as he was, including seventh-year Lucius Malfoy.

As Lucius swaggered down the halls of Hogwarts with two of his minions following him, he spotted Severus sitting on the floor by one of the stone walls, crouched over what seemed to be a leatherbound journal. "Oi!" he shouted. The young boy jumped in startlement. "What are you writing there?"

Severus scrambled to hide the journal. "N-nothing, I wasn't doing nothing," he insisted unconvincingly.

Lucius smirked at the naivety of him. "We'll see about that. _Accio journal!_" Severus attempted to get ahold of his possession to no avail, as it easily flew right in the hands of the older boy. "Let's see what kind of embarrassing shite this kid writes," the teenager joked to his minions. Every hint of humor from the seventh-years' faces was erased as they flipped open the journal. There were detailed descriptions and illustrations about curses that even the three teenagers had never heard of before. No space was ever wasted on the pages, as it was all cramped with complex knowledge only geniuses could understand.

Severus ran towards them and reached for the journal. "Give it back!" he demanded.

The Lucius snapped the book closed and tossed it to one of his minions. "No, I don't think we will," he replied with a smug look as the flustered Severus ran to the middle of the minions' game of catch.

"Stop throwing it around! That thing's valuable!" Severus shrieked at the beefed-up teenagers running around him with the journal.

One of them stopped to think for a moment, holding the journal above his head as Severus struggled to jump high enough to grab it. "Nah, don't think so mate," he decided. He ran with the journal still above his head and the boy chased after him. "I feel the need—" he started to holler as he tossed the journal to the other minion.

Like a receiver in American football, the other minion caught it strongly. "The need for speed!" he roared as he spotted Severus tailing him for the journal currently cradled in his arms.

"Boys, settle down!" Lucius called out to the three of them. "Give me the journal now," he ordered.

Defeated, the minion tossed the journal to him. Before Lucius caught the journal, Severus swooped in and took it back. Without a moment's hesitation, he aimed at all three of the teens and cried out, "_Levicorpus! Levicorpus! Levicorpus!_"

While Lucius and the minions were dangling midair by their ankles, Severus hurried to gather his belongings that rested against the stone wall and ran to the end of the hallway before releasing them. By the time the three caught up to where he'd disappeared from their sight, he was nowhere to be found.

* * *

_1978_

"A first year single-handedly defeating a couple of seventh years? How pathetic," Voldemort drawled. "I would tell you that I was surprised that you were ever beaten in such a way, but then I'd be lying," he added on.

Lucius rubbed his palm against his forehead, recovering from the recent intrusion into his mind. "He knew more curses than all the seventh years combined, my Lord. He was very impressive in that way," he claimed.

"What is the boy's name?" Voldemort inquired.

The blonde man breathed a heavy sigh, then answered with, "Severus Snape."

* * *

_One week later..._

Seventeen-year-old Severus entered the Hog's Head and headed straight for the men's restroom. He didn't know what Lucius's message was about, but he suspected that it was of great importance. As soon as he entered the cramped space, he was faced by the familiar looking blonde man, a few years older than when he last saw him. "Malfoy, long time no see," he greeted him with a stiff nod.

Lucius smiled back weakly at his attempt to not sound suspicious. He locked the entrance to the restroom and replied, "No one's in here, I checked."

He breathed a sigh of relief. "What can I do for you, Malfoy?" Severus asked.

"Not what you can do for me, Snape," the blonde corrected him, "but what you can do for the cause."

He looked at Lucius with skepticism. "And what do you mean by that?" Severus questioned.

"The Dark Lord has personally requested to meet up with you in five minutes time."

Severus widened his eyes at the news. "Why me?" he pressed on.

Lucius sneered back, "It's classified. I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you."

Severus shook off the last comment, unsure if he was joking or telling the truth. "Are you sure you got the right person?" he asked with disbelief.

Lucius nodded solemnly. "It's time for the big one. You up for this one, Snape?"

Severus shook his head to clear up the outburst of questions in his mind and audibly gulped before he responded. "Just a walk in the park, Malfoy," he joked. As he watched the twitching of his own hands, Severus had the sudden urge to smoke a cigarette even though he never smoked before.

The blonde laughed half-heartedly and slapped him on the shoulder. "You'll be fine, Severus," he reassured the teen.

He held out his arm towards him. As soon as Severus grabbed on, they apparated out of the men's restroom.

They entered the darkened room and without a word, and Lucius left him alone in there. Severus had no inkling as to why the Dark Lord had requested to see _him_ personally, but he wasn't complaining.

He spotted a single metal chair in the middle of the room and, after glancing around at the rest of the otherwise empty room, gathered that the chair was meant for him. The moment he was fully in the seat, a blackened cloud appeared in front of him. "_Severus Snape_," the polluted fog whispered to him, "_we meet at last. I've heard many good things about you._"

Severus was momentarily shocked. Out of all people, _he_'_d_ impressed the Dark Lord! "Thank you, My Lord. It is an honor to speak to you," Snape managed to sputter out without stuttering.

The sullied vapor suddenly vanished, replaced by a tall figure with billowing robes, making him look very majestic. The Dark Lord looked the boy in the eyes and chuckled sinisterly. "I know it is," he replied. "But I'm dreadfully busy, so let's make this quick."

The boy pulled out his inner Gryffindor for a quick moment. "Out of anyone you could have summoned, why did you call on me, my Lord?" he asked curiously.

"Because, boy, I know how brilliant you are, especially when it comes to the Dark Arts. I've heard through the grapevine that you've even invented your own Dark spells," the Dark Lord stated. "Did I hear correctly?"

A faint blush fell on Severus's pale-skinned cheeks. "Yes, you heard correctly, My Lord," Severus responded timidly.

The Dark Lord gestured out in front of him. "Then prove it," he demanded in a patronizing tone. With those words, he summoned a living, naked body on the edge of becoming a corpse with its limbs tied together. But it was alive, and its mumbling resistance was almost too faint to be heard.

Severus stared down at the thing in front of him, feeling mostly disgusted but determined to prove himself. With his wand at the ready, he whispered, "_Sectumsempra_," and maneuvered his wand in a calculated direction towards the chest area.

Immediately, the body began to bleed out profusely, cutting off the man's last cries for help before becoming comatose. As he stilled, Severus mumbled the countercurse under his breath to stop the bleeding.

The Dark Lord was confused—_did this boy just save that thing?_ he thought to himself. Then his red eyes traveled to the chest of the thing and saw a familiar image of a snake coming out of a skull, perfectly etched on its skin. The blood may be gone, but the wounds clearly ran deep. "Well done, boy!" the Dark Lord boomed. "How did you even invent such a spell?" he asked with a hint of admiration shining through.

Severus smirked to himself. He could tell that the man he worshipped respected _him_, which he knew wasn't an easy feat. It was an amazing feeling of accomplishment. "I envisioned what I want the spell to do, I studied Latin etymology, and I estimated what the hand movement needed to do in order to successfully cast the curse."

"Brilliant work, Severus," Voldemort praised him.

"Thank you, my Lord. It is an honor of hearing so from you," Severus beamed.

"You support what I've done here, I imagine?" Voldemort asked.

Severus nodded fervently. "I witnessed the damage Muggles can do to wizards and I don't want beings inferior to us to have the option to harm us anymore," he answered truthfully.

Voldemort nodded, looking deep in thought. "Very well, Severus. I insist that you join our cause, then. We could use a mind like yours around here."

For the first time in years, Severus genuinely smiled. "It would be my greatest honor, my Lord."


End file.
